Apparatus for mechanically operating level crossing gates



1933- z. TADROS 2,131,989

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES 9 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed July '7, 1956 F ig. '3.

//V VE/V 7 02 ffimt 2. TADROS Oct. 4, 1938.

APPARATUS FOR MECHANIGALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES Filed July 7,1956 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z W fm z. TADROS 2,131,989

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES Get. 4, 1938.

Filed July '7, 1936 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 lllllll ifm A TTOR/VE) Z. TADROSOct. 4, 1938.

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES Filed July 7',195a 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 76 lllll llll I Fig.10.

ATTORNEY Oct. 4, 1938. 2. TADROS 2,131,939

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES Filed July 7,1936 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 10s 113 i 26 F 114 49 f 414 2 115 15 Q -38 105- 42mm 100 g v 39 91 I 425 30 95 y 2 v fi 32 5 6 992 l #Wavrok ffm Oct. 4,1938; TAbRos 2,131,989

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES Filed July 7,1936 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Ame z. TADROS 2,131,989

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES Filed July 7,1956 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 [NI/EA/TOR 23 W ffiw.

Hrrm NE y Oct. 4, 1938. z TADRQS 2,131,989

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING LEVEL CROSSING GATES Filed July 7,1936 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Fig. 20.

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I 100 100 100 [PH n n n H mm n w'n n n n n-n=nn l UUULIUUUUUU'LIUULIUULIULTFUUULILIUUUULI Patented Oct. 4-, 1938 UNITED STATE FFIQEZaky Tadros, Cairo, Egypt Application July 7, 1936, Serial No. 89,274

In Greece July 23, 1935 14 Claims.

This invention is a mechanical arrangement for the automatic closing andre-opening of level railway crossings, whereby the train itself, at adistance to be fixed beforehand say of three to five kilometers, canclose the crossing barriers and at the same time put into action variousconventional sound, sight and light signals. Thus, for instance, at asuitable distance from the crossing, the whistle of the locomotive isautomatically made to sound continuously or intermittently and,simultaneously, certain bells of the barrier-posts of the level crossingbegin to ring continuously; after a sufficient interval of time thebarriers begin to close slowly, until they are locked in a closedposition. Simultaneously with the closing of the barriers, variousmechanical and luminous signals are shown, by day or by night, to thedriver of the train and the drivers of road vehicles to indicate whetherthe line is clear or not.

After the train has passed the crossing, the barriers are re-openedautomatically and locked in their open positions, the whistle and bellscease to sound and the signals for vehicles and trains are reversed totheir ordinary positions.

This arrangement is purely mechanical and automatic and requires noelectric current or handling by a railway employee.

In the following pages I give an example (accompanied by drawings) ofthe attainment of the object of my invention, without confining theinvention to that particular example.

Figs. 1 and 1a are right and left-hand portions respectively of a sideelevation of a railway track at a level crossing, showing the generalarrangement of my device.

Fig. 2 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front View of a locomotive fitted with an attachment, whichputs my invention into 7 operation.

40 Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively a side and a front view of theattachment fitted to the locomotive.

Fig. 6 is a cross section of a box containing a rod which operates theinvention.

Fig. 7 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a cross section of a time-regulating device which regulatesthe time of closing and reopening barriers.

Fig. 9 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an elevation of a detail of the mechanism.

Fig. 11 is an end view of the mechanism shown on the left of Fig. 8.

Fig. 12 is an end view of the time control mechanism shown in the righthalf of, and looking in the direction of the arrow in, Fig. 8.

Figs. 13 and 14 are a partial front and side elevation' respectively ofbarrier-posts, showing a bell mechanism and the working of the barriers.

Figs. 15 and 16 are respectively a front and a side elevation of amechanism for operating a 5 whistle of the locomotive.

Fig. 17 is a side elevation of a detail of a modification.

Fig. 17a is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 18 is a diagrammatic view of a detailed operating mechanism.

Fig. 18a is a similar view to Figure 14 but in cluding the mechanism ofFigure 18.

Figs. 19 and 19a are left and right-hand portions respectively of a sideview of a railway track at a level crossing showing a modifiedarrangement, and Figs. 20 and 20a are left and righthand portionsrespectively of a plan view showing the modification in which theinvention is applied to a double track.

In the drawings, I is a box with a slot 2 on its top, which can becovered in any suitable manner. Within the box I an operating rod 3 ofthe whole device is slidably mounted. The box is placed close to arailway track at a suitable distance from a level crossing, say anywherefrom 2 to 5 kilometers or even further. This rod 3 can slide by means ofrollers 4- 3 and 5-5 between two pairs of converging guides B-6, llarranged within the box (see Figs. 6 and 7) The rod 3 turns on a shaft 8and is constantly drawn upward by a suitable spring or springs 9. By asuitable arrangement, not shown in the drawings, the angle ofinclination of the rod to the horizontal, can be adjusted. This rod isfitted at the top with rollers iii-10, to be engaged by an attachment tothe locomotive, as will be explained hereinafter. The lower end of therod is connected to a set of strong springs l ll l, which in their turnare connected with an operating wire or wire-rope l2. At a suitabledistance alongside of box 5 and below it, is arranged a smaller box 13(see Figs. 6 and '7) within which reversible spring-locks l6 i5 areplaced at !E'l6' in such manner that under the action of their springsthey are constantly pressed upward, slightly projecting through asuitable slot in the bottom of box 5, so that they act as stopspreventing backward movement of rod 3 when the latter is in the positionshown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 6. These locks 5-46 are fixed to 5oangle-irons ll-ll, on which act eccentrics l5l5 fixed on a shaft M, whena member of a timeregulator 24 (hereinafter described) at a given momentacts on a small lever i9 fixed to the shaft [4, to lower the locks IS-|6and thus clear the 55 way for rod 3 to return to its original position.A spring I8 acting upon shaft I4, tends under normal conditions tomaintain the lever I9 in a horizontal position. Suitable buffers 2020are arranged within box to absorb any shocks due' to the movements ofrod 3.

The operating wire-rope |Z (Fig. 2) passing around, a a guide fpulley2|, divides into two branches: one branch 22 leads to the time-regulator24, which is placed beside box and near to the smaller box I3; the otherbranch passes over a set of pulleys 2|2|, to a mechanism affixed tobarrier-posts 25 of the level crossing, which works the barriers, thebells and the various warning signals. 7 g

It is to be noted that suitable springs 62 and 63 are inserted in seriesin each of the aforesaid branches for the purpose of distributing thepull, When rod 3 is moved by the attachment of the locomotive, as willpresently be described.

'The arrangement of the various devices attached to one of thebarrier-posts at the level crossing (Figs. 13 and 14) is as follows: Inthe walls of the post a shaft 29 is mounted, 'to which is fixed a beam30 of a barrier 3!. This beam is fitted with a counterweight 32. Also,on the said shaft there is loosely mounted a drum 33, on the peripheryof which there are a number of spikes 34 projecting radially. When thisdrum or wheel,

shown in Fig. 13, is turned counterclockwise, it

- locking pawl-35 and a toothed wheel35, fixed to angle with regard toeach other, so that, in the 7 two end positions ofthe lock, one or theother arm is about horizontal and projects intov the upward or downwardpath, of a projection. 28' on a slide 26,'which slides between twoupright guides 21 placed at a' suitable distance from the aforesaidwheels 33, 31.

This slide is fitted on one of its sides with a projection 28' whichco-operates with the aforesaid arms 4| and 4| of the double lock, and onits other side with a number of similar projections 28 which co-operatewith radial spikes 34 of the drum 33. slide 26 are set at the sameintervals as the spikes 34 of the drum 33, and their number is equal tothe number of spikes set on one quarter 43 and Wound arounda helicaldrum or worm 44,

the surface of which forms a continuous transition' curve of variousradii, so that the difference between the pull exerted by thecounterweight and that exerted by the wire-ropes is kept practicallyconstant. 7

fThe worm 44 can through the medium of a series of toothed wheels45,'46,41, 48 and 43 actu- The projections 28 of the ate the clapper 5| of abell s2 fitted with an escapement 58.

Figs. 15 and 16 show the device for automatically operating the whistleof the locomotive. This device may be arranged in any suitable positionon the locomotive. It consists of an arm 53 which can pivot around ashaft 54 and carries a spring lock 55 engageable with a toothed wheel53. 'A spring 5? fastened at one end to the 'body of the locomotive andat the other end to .the said arm, keeps the latter constantly point ingin the direction in which the locomotive .is travelling. When a train,approaching a level crossing, reaches the pre-determined point, say 2 to5 kilometers from the crossing, the said arm 53 strikes a succession ofpegs Hit driven at suitable intervals into the ground within thegabarit. As the train advances, the arm 53 swings about the shaft 53,until free from the pegs 533, whereupon it tends to swing back to itsoriginal position owing to the pull of the spring 51, carrying with it,through the medium of the spring lock 55,"the toothed wheel 36, togetherwith a pinion 5i concentrictherewith on the shaft 54. The pinion 51 thenturns a pinion 58, which carries a disc 59 having a button 33eccentrically mounted thereon to which is attached one end of a chain6|, the other end of which is fastened to the lever vor throttle of thelocomotives whistle. Thus; owing to the revolutions of the eccentricdisc 59, the whistle is sounded automatically and'inter-- mittently, asif it were operated by hand;

' As above stated, the branch 22 of the operating wire-rope i2 leads 'tothe time-regulator. This branch 22 (see Figs. 8, 9, 10'and 11) passesaround the pulley. drum or worm E54, 65,- the sur-' face of whichpresents a'continuous transition curve of various radii, for the samereason as set forth abovewith regard to the worm 44, and carries at itsend a counterweight 66.

.Thedrum E34, 65 is fastened to the shaft 61,

whichis rotatably carried in bearings 68. To. the said shaft Bl is alsokeyed a pulley 69, which through the medium of pulleys '|0-||l and adriving belt; transmits a rotary movement to the pulley 12.

The latter, fixedly secured to a shaft 16, can revolve freely in acounter-chok wise direction, as, for instance, if moved by the pull ofthe counterweight 66. If, however, force is exerted upon it in aclockwise direction, for

instance, by the pull of the operating wire-rope I 22, then through themedium of a pawl '53 it engages a toothed wheel 74 and causes the latterto rotate together with a two-part cylindrical mema a rotary movement ina counter-clockwise direc tion to the pinion or gear wheel 18, which isloosely mounted on shaft i6 by means of the pawl W. The toothed wheel I8transmits the movement to a set of gear wheels indicated generally by 80in Figs. 8 and 9.

When the cylindrical part member 75 is rotated in the same direction asthe handle of a look; its

upper cam surface slides under the other simi .larly shaped cylindricalpart member 8| which,

parts above the drum 72, they are mounted on a separate axle 'or shaft16. If desired, insteadof two shafts, only one may be employed, aroundwhich the pulley 12 can revolve freely, if the wheel 11 and lock pawl19'were omitted.

By the rotation of the lower part member 15 the upper part member 8| isslowly and gradually raised by the steady contact of the cam surfaces ofthe two parts and reaches its uppermost position when the lower part 15has made one complete revolution (360). At that moment the upper part8|, under the action of a spring 84 falls abruptly to its originalposition from a height equal to the height of the cam surface on whichit has risen. The upper part 8| has a projection 85 thereon (see Fig.12) which, on the fall of the part 8|, strikes the small lever l9 of thelocking device of the aforesaid rod 3 in the box (see Figs. 6 and '7)and through the action of the eccentrics l5 lowers the locks l6 andleaves the rod 3 free to return to its original position.

The time required for completely raising the part 8| and hence forcompletely releasing the rod 3 from the looks I 6 can be regulated by abraking device 86 with which the last wheel of the gearing 80 is fittedand by means of. which the angular speed of the wheels and the gearing89 is regulated through the medium of a key 81.

The mechanism operates. in the following manner:

To the locomotive (see Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5), atv

a suitable position with respect to the box on the ground, is secured atwo-pronged steel spring 88, between the prongs of which the rod 3passes until the said spring bears against the rollersv I9 andrso movesthe rod 3 forward. The spring 88 consists of a bundle of springs hingedat 88 to the locomotive so that when the locomotive for any reason movesbackward, the bundle, of springs 88 yields and pivots on the hinge 89whereby damage to rod 3 is prevented. When the spring 88 engages the rod3, it moves it from the position shown by the full lines to the positionindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1 where the rod is released fromthe springs, first, owing to the elasticity produced by the spring 9,and secondly, owing to, the downward movement of the rod due to theconverging guides 6-6 and l-1.

In order that the engaging operation may not fail owing to any verticalor horizontal oscillation of the locomotive, on the one hand, the rod 3is held by the springs 88 constantly in a vertical position and movesdownward only when the pressure exerted by the spring exceeds a certainlimit, and on the other hand, when the distance between the two prongsof spring 88 and the length of the rollers I is slightly greater thanrequired.

When the rod 3 is released from engagement with the spring 88, it cannotreturn to its original position owing to the presence of the springlocks Hi. In this position it pulls on the springs I, which in theirturn pull on the operating wirerope l2. The force of this pull, throughsprings 62 and 63 and the wire-ropes 22 and 23, is passed on to thetime-regulator 24 and to the mechanism operating the barriers and thesignals.

The wire-rope 22, being now stretched, exerts a pull on the rim of thedrum 64, 65, .and sets in motion the drum 69, which is fixed to theshaft 61. This drum 69, by means of its pulleys l0 and the belt 1| (Fig.9) transmits the rotary movement to the drum 12 of the time-regulator 24and thus, by reason of the non-reversing pawl 13, causes the movement ofthe releasing device 8|85 of the locks l6 and operates theclockmechanism 80, which regulates the time of release.

Meanwhile, by the pull exerted by the other wire-rope 23, the slide 26on the gate-post 25, which is in the position indicated by the dottedlines, is drawn downwards and through wire-rope 23, sets in motion theworm 44 which, through the medium of its system of toothed wheels 45'49operates the clapper of the bell 52. The slide 26, in its descent,strikes with its projection 28' on the rod 4| of the double lock 39,which is in the position indicated by the dotted lines, and moves it tothe position shown by the full lines, where the mechanism of the beam ofthe barrier (36, 3|) is unlocked and canbe turned to a closed position.The slide 26, continuing on its descent, strikes, with the projection 28on its opposite side, the spikes 34 which project radially from thewheel 33, and causes the shaft 29 to revolve, thereby lowering the beam30 through the medium of the locking pawl 35, which acts upon thetoothed wheel 36 fixed to the shaft 29. The beam is locked in the closedposition by the point of the double lock 39, which has been moved to theposition indicated by the full lines. Simultaneously, the signals 20arranged along the top of the barrier and the distance posts andconnected by wires (not shown in the drawings) directly with the drum33, are depressed, to show tothe driver of the train that the line isclear and the barrier 3| is closed.

When the barrier is closed, a red triangle 9| arranged on the centre ofthe beam 30, is shown to warn the drivers of approaching road Vehicles(see Fig. 13). This triangle is hinged at one of its lower corners tothe beam 30 and is fitted with a counterweight so as to remainconstantly in an upright position. This counterweight may be, as shownin Fig. 13, a lantern 93 trimmed to burn a week and attached to thetriangle 9| by a vertical arm 94 fastened to the hinge 92. This lanternthus performs a double service of a counterweight and a luminousindicator.

A red glass disc is fixed to each beam 30 so that when the barrier isclosed, i. e. when the beam 30 is in a horizontal position, the red discmoves into place in front of the lantern and thus presents a red lightto approaching vehicles. When the barrier is open, i. e. when the beamis in a vertical position, the triangle 9| remains upright by reason ofits counterweight or any additional weight that may be required, but isnotvisible to approaching vehicles, being hidden by the rails of thebarrier.

A green glass disc 95 is fastened to the beam so that, when the barrieris open, the disc moves into position in front of the lantern 93 andthereby shows a green light to approaching vehicles. The time regulator24 is so arranged that the part 8| with its projection 85 has reachedits highest position when the train arrives at the level crossing. Thenthe part 8|, under the action of the spring 84, falls sharply back intoits original position and the projection 85 acts upon the lever i9 andreleases rod 3 from the locks l6, as described above. The rod 3, underthe action of the springs returns to its original position and thestrain upon the wire-ropes 22 and 23 is relaxed.- The counterweights 66and 43 restore the various working parts to their original positions.The slide 26 rises, the projection 28' thereon strikes against the arm42 of the double lock 39 and moves it back into the position indicatedby the dotted lines, where it remains stationary by reason ofcounterweight 38. The counterweight 32" of the beam, which is carefullyadjust-' ed to offset the weight of the rod 3 and the fric tioni of theoperating wire-ropes, restores the beam-automatically to the openposition, where it is locked against any'reverse turn of the pointofdouble lock 39. In opening the beam 30, the wheel 33 revolves freelyaround the shaft 29.

, 'Then the various working parts, with their rearm 53 of which strikessuccessively on the aforesaid pegs I (see Fig. 2).

- It will be seen from the foregoing description that my invention ispurely mechanical and automatic in operation,,that it offers everypossible security and that in case of .any failureto' operate (which iswell-nigh impossible), the aforesaid signals on the barrier-gates anddistance posts warn the driver of any oncoming train that the barrier isnot closed giving him time to reduce speed, so as to avert any disaster.

The embodiment above described is intended for use in connection withlevel crossings situated between two stations and on anuninterruptedsection of the line, onwhich trainsrun without stopping. Incases, however, where the I level crossings are disposed near stations,shuntings or goods-sidings or across busy thoroughfares, oncoming trainsreduce their speed to, or

even beyond, the time-limit allowed by the 3 above describedtime-regulator, and moreover,

, which the barriers, afterbeing closed by an ap'-' proaching train asabove described are reopened. V

the time allowed by the time regulator for slow and long goods trainsmaybe considered by the busy public too long for fast and short expresstrains.

In order to avoid this difficulty, in a modification of my invention, Iprovide a second control box, similar to-the control box I, by means ofThis second box is fixed on the ground alongside the track at the end ofthe section of level crossing furthest .from an approaching train.

The distance between this box and the level crossing must in no case beless than the length of the longest train, so that, after the wholetrain has passed thecrossing, the barriers may be'reopened by the actiono f'this second box, which by means of the wire I05 (Figs. 13 and 18)brings down the slide I08, which presses down arm 4|" and thus opens thelock and allows the barrier to reopen freely with the aid of thecounterweight 32, which is adjusted to be exactly sufficient to overcomethe weight of the barrier and the friction. V

When this second box is employed to effect th re-opening of thebarriers, the time-regulator 24 is omitted and a device shown in Fig. 17is used to release the boxes after they have accomplished theirfunction. I

The device shown in Fig. 17 comprises a drum I0l, around which the wirerope 22 passes and which in being turned by the pull of the saidwire-rope 22, causes the rotation of a smaller drum I02 fixed to thesame shaft I24.

This movement is now transmitted by the wirerope 22' and the pulley I03to the releasing lever, which unlocks the locks of the'two boxes andreleases the springs therein contained, after they have fulfilled theirfunction, i; e. ringing of the wire-rope 22 causes the displacement ofwirerope 22, which sufiices to unlock the'locks of the spring boxes. r q

According .to particular cases and distances,

the diametersof the drums, the length ofth spring 62, etc., can bevaried as'required.

I will now consider the case of two trains (an up-train and adown-train) meeting on the section of the same level crossing; andassumethat one of these two trains is passing through the section beforethe other and is therefore about to reopen the barriers while the othertrain is still on'the level crossing.

'The arrangement shown in Fig. 18 prevents the first train fromreopening the barriers before any other train has passed over the entiresection of the level crossing.

If we suppose that the up-train is about to pass through the sectionbefore the down-train and that the wire rope I05 (Figs. 13, 18 and 20)has been made taut by the action of the up-train in order to pulltheslide I08, whose function is,

on its downward course, to depress the arm II so as to, unlock thebarriers and leave them free to open with the aid of the counterweight32, then the said unlocking of the barriers can be effected unhinderedprovided a cam or eccentric I I5 (Figs. 18 and 13) is not in theposition shown in the drawings. I

But if,.in the above assumed case, adoWntrain is still on'the levelcrossing section, this train, (which is the slower), on entering thesection, will act upon the first spring box I on the down track and willcause a pull on the wirerope I00 (Fig. 118). Said'wire-ropel04 branchesfrom the wire-rope 23" (Figs. 14 and 2) strained T by the firstspringboxof the down-line acted on by the down-train. which is theslower.

scendihg will depress the arm I22 of the semicircular cylindricaleccentric II5'and' will force it into the position shown in Fig. 18.This position will preventthe slide I08, which has been pulled downbythe action of the up-train (which is the more advanced) from completingits downward course and releasing the lock 39 or unlocking the barriersbefore the down-train which is the slower has left the section, i. e.the protected distance of track containing the level crossing. g

The down-train then acts upon the secondor last spring box alongside ofthe down-line and causes a pull, on the wirerope, I06 (Fig. 18)-branching from the wire-rope I05 strained by said last spring boxactuated by the down-train (Figs. 18, 14 and 2). The said wire rope I06in itsturn draws down the slide H3, which, by.

means of an arm IId fixed upon the eccentric II5, forces it into such aposition as to leave entirely passed the the faster This pull will pulldownjthe slide I01, which in de The manner of co-operation of thevarious parts in the double track arrangement will be understood fromFig. 20.

In connection with this arrangement the following members come intoplay:

(1) One slide 26 (Figs. 13 and 14) in each of the two barrier posts ofthe crossing.

The function of this slide is to release the double lock (locking thebarrier in the open position), close the said barrier and lock it in theclosed position.

(2) Two wire-ropes 23, 23" (Figs. 14, 13'and 2) branching from the twofirst spring boxes of the two tracks and attached to the lower end ofthe slide 26.

' (3) One slide I08 (Figs. 18, 13 and 14) in each of the two barrierposts of the crossing.

The function of this latter slide is to unlock the double lock andconsequently the barrier leaving it free toopen with the aid of thecounterweight 32.

(4) To the lower ends of the slides I 88 are attached wire-ropes I05 andH15 (Figs. 14, 2, 13 and 18) branching from the two last spring boxes ofthe two railway lines.

(5) Two similar eccentric cams (of which only one cam H5 is shown onFigs. 18, 13 and 14 to avoid complication) in each of the two barrierposts.

(6) Two similar slides (of which only one slide I! is shown on Figs. 18and 14 to avoid complication) in each of the two barrier posts.

('7) Two similar counterweights (of which only one counterweightIOS isshown on Figs. 18 and. 14 to avoid complication) in each of the twobarrier posts.

(8) Two similar wire-ropes (of which only one wire-rope I04 is shown onFigs. 18 and 14 to avoid complication) in each of the two barrier posts.

One of the said two similar wire-ropes I84 branches from the wire-rope23 actuated by the first spring box of the first track and the secondwire branches from the wire-rope 23" actuated by the first spring box ofthe second track.

When either of these wire-ropes I84 is actuated it pulls down the slideI01 against the counterweight Ill9 so as to actuate one of the saidtwoeccentric cams II soas to block the path of the slide I88 which iscommon to both cams.

(9) Two similar wire-ropes (of which only one Wire-rope IE6 is shown onFigs. 18 and 14 toavoid complication) in each of the two barrier posts.

One of the wire-ropes I86 branches from the wire-rope I85 (Fig. 14)actuated by the second spring box of the first track (Fig. 2); thesecond wire-rope branches from the Wire-rope I05 actuated by the secondspring box of the second track (Fig. 2).

As regards the slide 26, it must be remembered that this slide, aftercompleting its downward course, reverses and moves upward to regain itsnormal position. Nevertheless, supposing that, while this slide in itsupward course is passing the. spiked wheel 33 and the barriers have notyet begun'to rise, it should happen that this slide suddenly reversedits movement and be- I gan to descend, owing to a pull caused by a secorthe slide would be stopped in its downward course, and prevented fromfulfilling its object.

To allow the slide 26 to complete its downward course in such acontingency, the shaft 29 is fitted with a spring clutch I25 (Fig. 13)looking the wheel 36 to the shaft 29 and so arranged that both can bereleased from the clutch by a rigid arm or beam I26 fixed to the body ofthe barrier-gate and acting upon the clutch when the barriers are closed(i. e. when they are in a horizontal position) and thus allowing thespiked wheel 33 to turn freely with the slide,

without hindering it from completing its downward course to perform itsfunction.

The various working parts should be calculated in proportion to thedistance required in each case between the mechanism and the levelcrossmg.

It will be understood that I'do not confine myself to the abovementioned measurements and details of the construction of the variousworking parts, inasmuch as many modifications may be made withoutaltering the fundamental principles of the invention. Thus, the variousessential component devices or mechanisms may be duplicated ormultiplied so that if the one should fail to work, its counterpart canfulfil its function, until the necessary replacement or repair has beeneffected. Likewise, there may be employed more than one operatingwire-rope, and also more than one set of locks and springs.

My invention could also, with some slight modification, be utilized forother purposes, such as, for instance, to warn the driver of a train'ofa sudden collapse of a bridge. In that case, the rod 3 would be heldconstantly, by a wire-rope connected with the bridge, in the uprightposition indicated by dotted lines (Figs. 1 and 6). If the wire-ropewere broken, the rod -3 would return to its original position and bystriking against the train, would warn the driver by means of somesuitable device of the disaster. Moreover, the pegs I138 for operatingthe whistle may, if desired, be placed at all dangerous points, wherethe whistle will be sounded, and thereby avoiding the necessity of thedriver having to sound it and its attendant risk.

' I claim: i i i 1. Apparatus for automatically operating a levelcrossing gate including gate closing means operatively connectable tosaid gate, said means comprising a gate actuating device arrangedadjacent said gate and an operating member for said device adapted to bedisposed adjacent the track at a predetermined distance from said levelcrossing, and connected to said device through the medium of a spring;means carried by a locomotive to displace said operating member totension said spring, when said locomotive passes said member; means forretaining said member in its displaced position to allow the said springto actuate said actuating device; and time-controlled means forreleasing said retaining means to allow of the return of said gate toits open position.

, 2. In apparatus for automatically operating a level crossing gate thecombination of: a casing arranged adjacent to the track at apredetermined distance from the level crossing; a rod slidable in saidcasing; a support at said level crossing; a rotatable shaft mounted onsaid support, a gate mounted on said shaft; a side member on saidsupport having a spring connection to said rod; a .Wheel on said shafthaving spikes on the periphery thereof, said spikes being engageable bysaid slide, on movement of said slide therepast, to rotate said Wheel;means carried by -a. train passing said casing operable to displace saidrod in said casing to tension said spring connection thereafter to causesaid slide to actuate saidwheel and close said gate.

3. Apparatus for automatically operating a level crossing gate by apassing train'including a gate at said level crossinga casing arrangedadjacent to the track at a predetermined distance from the levelcrossing; converging guides in said casing; an upwardly projecting rodin said casing, said rod being slidable along said guides; asubstantially vertically disposed fork member carried by said train,said member being slidably engageable with said rod and movablehorizontally over said casing to displace said rod; a spring connectionbetween said rod and said gate, the arrangement being such that saidfork member entrainssaid rod initially near the upper end thereof, andduring movement of said fork member, said rod is moved downwardly withrespect to said fork member and is freed therefrom when said fork memberreaches the end of said casing, said rod tensicning said springconnection thereafter to actuate said gate; spring catches forpreventing the return movement of the rod to its normal position; andmeans for releasing said, catches. V

4. In apparatus of the type referred to the subcombination of: a casingadapted to be placed adjacent to the track at a predetermined distancefrom the said level crossing; a rod slidable, through the medium of atrain passingtherepast, longitudinally in said casing for the purpose ofactuating a level crossing gate; spring catches movement; a two-partcylindrical member, having co-operating helical end faces, said memberbeing carried on a shaft associated with said casing, one part of saidmember being displaceable on said shaft against the action of a springaway from saidother part after movement of the said rod in an operativedirection; a projection on said displaceable part engageable with theaforesaid spring catches, such that when said member returns to itsnormal position at the end of the operating movement under the action ofsaid spring, said projection engages said catches and releases said rodto allow the latter to return to its normal position. l

5. Apparatus for automatically operating 'a 'level crossing gateincluding a casing arranged adjacent to the track at a predetermineddistance from the level crossing; a rod slidable longitudinally in saidcasing under the influence of a train on said track passing said casing;a substantially vertical support at said level crossing; a levelcrossinggate mounted on a shaft rotatably carried by said support; a slidemember vertically movable on said support; a spring connectionbetween'said slide and said rod; a bell on said support; a hammer forsaid bell actuatable through the medium of gearing on movement of saidslide; projections on said slide; a wheel on said shaft engageable bysaid projections to rotate said wheel to move said gate; and releasablemeans for retaining said rod in its displaced position, the arrangementbeing such that on movement of said rod said spring connection istensioned thereafter to actuate said slide.

6. Apparatus for closing and opening a level crossing gate by a trainpassing over said crossing including a pair of casings arranged one oneach side of said level crossing adjacent the track at a predetermineddistance from said crossing; a rod slidablycarried in each'of saidcasings; a support for said gate at said level crossing; a slidesubstantially verticallymovable on saidsupport and having a springconnection to the rod in one of said casings; a shaft carried by saidsupport on which said gate is mounted;

a spiked wheel on'lsaid shaftarranged to .be rotated on movement of saidslide to close said gate; ratchet locking means carried by said supportto hold the said gate in itsiclosed position; spring catches mounted insaid casing forretaining said rod in one endv position; a second slidemovable on said support and having aspring connection to said secondrod, and said second slide being also operatively connectible with saidratchet locking means; and a common operating member for said rodsarrangeable onsaid train, the arrangement being such that, on thepassage of the trainover the first aforesaid casing, the rod therein ismoved longitudinally thereof to tension said spring connectionthereafter. to'actua pair of tracks by a train passing over saidcrossingoneach of saidtracks including a pairof casings arranged on eachside of said level crossing adjacent the tracks at a predetermineddistance from said crossing; a rod slidably carried in each of saidcasings; a support for said gate at said level crossing; a substantiallyvertically movable first slide carried on said support; a springconnection between said slide-and the'rods in diagonally oppositecasings one an each side of said crossing; a shaft'carried by saidsupport on which said gate is mounted; a spiked wheelon said shaftrotatable by said slideon movement thereof to closesaid gate; asecondmovable slide on said support engageable with said spiked wheel; aspring connection between said second slide and saidother rods in saidother casings,

said other rods being also operativelyconnected to said spring catches;and a commonoperating member for the rods of the casings on each trackrespectively arrangeable on each of said; trainsr 8. In a train operatedapparatus for automatically effecting a control operation, ,such as theclosing of a level crossing gate, the sub-combination of: a. casingadjacent the track at a predetermined distance from the level crossing;an

said springs in said connecting means, where- 7 on said support; a gatepivoted to said shaft; a

slide longitudinally movable in said support; and a wheel on said shafthaving spikes on the periphery thereof, said wheel being rotatable onpassage of said slide therepast so as to move said gate.

10. In apparatus of the type referred to the sub-combination of: asupport; a shaft rotatable in said support; a gate carried by saidshaft; a wheel on said shaft; a one-way connection between said wheeland said shaft, whereby said wheel on rotation only in one directionrotates said shaft; a slide movable along said support; a projection onsaid slide; a plurality of spikes on said wheel with which saidprojection may engage, the arrangement being such that on movement ofsaid slide, said wheel is rotated to close said gate.

11. In apparatus of the type referred. to the sub-combination of asupport; a rotatable shaft carried by said support; a gate carried bysaid shaft; a spiked wheel mounted on said shaft; a one-way connectionbetween said wheel and said shaft, whereby said wheel is rotatable inone direction to move said gate and in the other direction independentlyof said gate; ratchet means carried by said support for retaining saidgate in the open position; a slide movable in said support; a projectionon said slide engageable with said ratchet means; a plurality of pins onsaid slide engageable with said spiked wheel, whereby on movement ofsaid slide said ratchet means is first released and then said spikedwheel is rotated to lower said gate; and releasable means for lockingsaid gate in the closed position.

12. In apparatus of the type referred to a level crossing gate includingthe sub-combination of a support; a shaft rotatably mounted on saidsupport; a gate carried by said shaft; a spiked wheel mounted on saidshaft; a first slide movable longitudinally in said support; a lockdevice carried by said support for locking said gate in the openposition; a single projection on said slide engageable with said look; aplurality of pins on said slide engageable with said spiked wheel;locking means for locking said gate in the closed position; and a secondslide in said support, whereby on movement of said first-mentioned slidesaid first-mentioned projection thereon releases said lock and then saidplurality of pins consecutively engage said spiked wheel to rotate saidshaft and lower said gate, and on movement of said second slide saidclosed position locking means is released to enable said gateautomatically to re-open and said first-mentioned slide to return to itsinitial position.

13. In apparatus of the type referred to, gate operating mechanismincluding the combination of: a casing adapted to be arranged adjacentto the track at a predetermined distance from the level crossing;converging guides mounted in said casing; an upwardly projecting rodslidable longitudinally on said guides for the purpose of initiating amechanical operation; a group of springs attached to the lower end ofsaid rod and adapted on movement of said rod to absorb and store a forcesufficient for the gradual carrying out of said operation; anindependent operating member for said rod carried vertically by a trainand arranged to be passed over said rod to displace said rod along saidguides; and releasable spring locks carried by said casing for retainingsaid rod in displaced position, the arrangement being such that the saidrod is released from said member after said group of springs issufiiciently stressed and is held by said spring locks.

.14. In a train operated apparatus for automatically effecting a controloperation, such as the closing of a level crossing gate, thesub-combination of: a casing adjacent the track at a predetermineddistance from the level crossing; an upstanding rod displaceablelongitudinally in said casing; means carried by said rod operativelyconnectible to a gate to be actuated; springs interposed in saidconnecting means; releasable spring catches carried by said rod forretaining said rod in displaced position; an independent operatingmember for said rod carried by said train, the arrangement being suchthat said train on passing said casing displaces siad rod along saidcasing and into operative position to stress said springs in saidconnecting means,

whereupon said springs gradually detension to effect said controloperation independently of the movement of said train; andtime-controlled means for releasing said spring catches.

- ZAKY TADROS.

